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Who Should I Start for Week 2? Fantasy Football outlooks for Devaughn Vele, Stefon Diggs, Mike Evans, Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Romeo Doubs, Jaylen Warren, Rico Dowdle, Marvin Harrison Jr., Alec Pierce.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 2 fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like Devaughn Vele, Stefon Diggs, Mike Evans, Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Romeo Doubs, Jaylen Warren, Rico Dowdle, Marvin Harrison Jr., and Alec Pierce. However, don't worry, we are here to help you make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 2. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 2 of the 2026 NFL season. Our free Who Should I Start? tool will help make your fantasy football lineup decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to start... all free! Get your winning lineups set, and make the right decisions.
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Week 2 Fantasy Football Outlooks
Below are some fantasy football outlooks written by our NFL team here at RotoBaller, bringing you their fantasy football analysis and advice on which players to consider starting in Week 2:
Rico Dowdle, Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rico Dowdle remains on the fantasy radar, but only as a player to stash on the bench in most leagues. His fantasy stock has fallen significantly since last season with the Panthers, when he ranked as the overall RB18 in PPR with seven touchdowns and over 1,000 rushing yards.
Fast forward to Week 1 of the 2026 campaign, and Dowdle was held in check with just eight carries, 15 rushing yards, and two catches. He actually played more snaps than Jaylen Warren, but was drastically out-produced by the 27-year-old.
It's too early to drop him in leagues with 10+ teams, especially since we know that he can be a fantasy RB2 if Warren were to miss time. For now, though, he should be benched in fantasy football until he proves that he can maintain any sort of standalone value.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Washington Commanders
Washington Commanders running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt didn't take over the backfield in Week 1, but the rushing split was hard to miss. He carried 16 times for 63 yards and a touchdown against Philadelphia. Rachaad White had seven carries, while rookie Kaytron Allen had four. The snaps were much closer, with Croskey-Merritt at 49% and White at 41%, so White isn't disappearing from this offense.
He also caught both of his targets, while Croskey-Merritt's only reception went for minus-seven yards. Still, Washington gave Croskey-Merritt 16 of its 27 running back carries, and he punched in a one-yard touchdown late in the first half.
He did put the ball on the ground once, though the Commanders recovered it. Croskey-Merritt was already listed first on the depth chart before the opener. The game told us more than the depth chart did. For now, he looks like the back Washington wants handling most of the rushing work and profiles as a solid FLEX option facing the Cowboys in Week 2.
Mike Evans, San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Mike Evans caught six passes for 49 yards and a touchdown in his first game with his new team, and with second-round rookie De'Zhaun Stribling (ankle) now slated to miss at least the next four games after being placed on injured reserve with an ankle injury, the veteran should be viewed as a borderline WR1 moving forward.
Over his 12 seasons with the Buccaneers, Evans dominated out of two-receiver sets, and the 49ers operated out of 21-personnel on a league-leading 42.2% of their plays in Week 1. Now competing with Deebo Samuel Sr. and Demarcus Robinson for wide receiver targets, Evans has a chance to feast as All-Pro tight end George Kittle continues to work toward a full workload, and he is RotoBaller's WR13 ahead of Sunday's matchup with the Dolphins.
Romeo Doubs, New England Patriots
The New England Patriots will need better results from wide receiver Romeo Doubs, who steps into the de facto No. 1 receiver role for the next few weeks. He is replacing A.J. Brown (ankle), who has been placed on injured reserve and will miss at least a month. Doubs signed with the Patriots this past offseason, but his debut with the team went about as poor as you could imagine.
He was unable to haul in any of his three targets, and a mix of physical and mental mistakes negatively impacted him and the Patriots down the stretch. The good news for Doubs is that the Seahawks' defense is fantastic, and he's not the first receiver to produce a dud against them. The test will get a little easier in Week 2 against the Steelers, especially if Joey Porter Jr. (back) remains sidelined.
We'd recommend giving Doubs a second chance after Week 1, because there's real value in being Drake Maye's No. 1 target. He is a solid FLEX option in deeper three-WR formats in Week 2.
Devaughn Vele, New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints wide receiver Devaughn Vele caught seven of nine targets for 69 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 31-30 loss to the Detroit Lions. Saints quarterback Tyler Shough found Vele for a one-yard touchdown in the third quarter to cut the lead to 21-14. Vele lined up as the Saints WR2 behind Chris Olave and was second on the team in receptions, receiving yards, and targets.
His longest catch of the day was a 31-yard reception, which led to a Saints field goal. The 28-year-old will see an uptick in snaps and targets in the short term with rookie Jordyn Tyson (hamstring) on injured reserve. Vele logged 82 snaps, had 58 routes run, and had a good rapport with Shough in Sunday's loss.
With Tyson injured, Vele carved himself out a role and could become a key part of the Saints' offense along with Olave, Juwan Johnson, and Travis Etienne Jr. Vele is RotoBaller's No. 3-ranked waiver wire pickup and will look to build on Sunday's performance against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2. Vele is an upside FLEX in all standard leagues entering Week 2.
Who Should I Start Tool
You can also see the Who Should I Start tool here.
Week 2 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Devaughn Vele, Stefon Diggs, Mike Evans, Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Romeo Doubs, Jaylen Warren, Rico Dowdle, Marvin Harrison Jr., Alec Pierce. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 2.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player name. In the second box, search for the second player name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed that our 'Who Should I Start?' tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, players news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do, is to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circle), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 2 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 2 (2026)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 2 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for Week 2 for Devaughn Vele, Stefon Diggs, Mike Evans, Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Romeo Doubs, Jaylen Warren, Rico Dowdle, Marvin Harrison Jr., Alec Pierce:
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